Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Tale claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would triumph over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily gauged from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them very the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the day after. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

• 725g Scotch whisky blend
• 130g simple syrup
• 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A dash of salt
• 2g xanthan gum

Instructions

Combine everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as 21 days.

For serving, pour about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Drink promptly. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.